Federal Court. Can it be said that, "in cases where unreasonable delay is relied upon as the basis for a writ of mandamus, the delay must have reached the critical point prior to the commencement of proceedings"?
Some of the questions to the Federal Court (FCA) were as follows:
Question 1: In determining whether a decision to grant or refuse to grant a visa is affected by unreasonable delay, is it "lawful and desirable for the Department to develop policies and procedures to facilitate the making of rigorous and consistent decisions generally"?
Question 2: In that same context, should a court "consider the reasonableness of the Department’s procedures solely against the perceived demands of a single decision"?
Question 3: Can it be said that, "in cases where unreasonable delay is relied upon as the basis for a writ of mandamus, the delay must have reached the critical point prior to the commencement of proceedings"?
Question 4: If the answer to Question 3 is 'no', does this mean that there is no need for proper basis for seeking relief in the nature of mandamus at the time proceedings are commenced?
The FCA answered those questions as follows: